THE S.S. STORMCLOUD AND THUNDERBOLT SQUADRON

[max_vale]

Okay; the PCs in this adventure will all be members of the mercenary/pirate Thunderbolt squadron; operating off of the captured and modified airship the S.S. Stormcloud (the former S.S. Spirit of Unity). Below will be a quick snapshot of some of the important members of this mercenary/pirate band and stats for the planes and Zeppelin operated by them.


S.S. Stormcloud



Notes: Captured by Squadron Leader Henry 'Hank' Chalifoux and his Thunderbolt squadron in the skies over the I.S.A. in 1935; this small commercial Zeppelin has been modified to serve as a carrier of up to 12 planes and been the main base of the mercenary/pirate squadron for the past two years. Currently, due to some hard times, the Zeppelin only houses the 7 remaining planes of Thunderbolt squadron.

The Zeppelin has 16 engines; 8 to a side in two banks of 4; the top 4 are the 'station-keeping' nacelles and they rotate up or down to help keep the Zeppelin from rising too high or settling too low while the lower bank serve as the propulsion for the airship. These lower engine nacelles also house twin 30 caliber Light Machine gun turrets for self-defense and a front turret and a dorsal turret both mount twin 50 caliber heavy machine guns to complete the vessel's armament.

She has berths for 60 people (4 single cabins and 28 double cabins) total and currently has a total crew of 52 with room for up to 8 passengers. The crew consists of the Airship's Captain (Frederick 'Fritz' Wolff); Chief Engineer (A.B. Carracas); First Mate (Helen 'Harridan' Hannigan); Second Mate (Rick Templeton); Squadron Leader (Henry 'Hank' Chalifoux); ? Pilots; 2 Principal Helmsmen, 2 Assistant Helmsmen; 2 Radio Operators; 2 'Docs'; 4 Cooks/Mess Crew; 10 Gunners/Cargo Handlers; 8 Engineers; and ? Aviation Mechanics

Game States:

Size: 1,000 feet long (Capital Scale)
Hull: 2D+1
Speed: +1
Maneuverability: 0
Weapons: 8 Twin LMG turrets (4 per side; Vehicle scale); Gun Stability: +2; Damage: 3D+1
2 Twin HMG turrets (Front, Top); Gun Stability: +2; Damage: 4D



Thunderbolt Squadron:

Currently down to 7 planes divided into 2 Flights; First Flight; a three planes 'Vic'; and Second Flight with 4 planes

First Flight:

-Thunderbolt Leader: Squadron Leader Hank Chalifoux; Hughes 'Bloodhawk' Fighter




-Thunderbolt 2: Pilot Officer (P.O.) Liu Zang & P.O. Robert 'Bobby' King (Gunner); Latécoère 'Dauphin' Floatplane Heavy Fighter



-Thunderbolt 3: P.O. Loraine Hall & P.O. Wilhelm 'Will' Voss (Gunner); Fairchild F6 'Brigand' Heavy Fighter




Second Flight:

-Thunderbolt 4: Flight Lieutenant Jean-Claude Oulotte; Hughes P21 'Devastator'



-Thunderbolt 5: Pilot Officer Che Curador; Ravenscroft 'Dust Devil'



-Thunderbolt 6: Pilot Officer Murdoch; Curtis Wright J2 'Fury'



-Thunderbolt 7: Pilot Officer Nikolai Klokov; Whittly & Douglas M210 'Raven'

[max_vale]

NPC Profile: Squadron Leader Henry 'Hank' Chalifoux

Age: 38
Gender: Male
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 173 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Background: Born in upstate New York to a Cajun father who had joined the Army and was stationed in NY and a teacher mother who had been born and raised in upstate New York; Hank's father would soon leave the service while he was a toddler and the little boy would grow up near Albany learning how to speak the Cajun-version of French in addition to his native English from his dad. Seeing his first plane in 1911 at the age of 12; Hank was captivated for life and he was soon taking lessons from the local crop duster behind his parents back. By the summer after his junior year of high school (1916); Hank was growing restless and after reading about the expatriate Americans flying for France in the Great War known as the Lafayette Escadrille (squadron); he impulsively decided that he would be one too. He ran away from home to NYC and stowed away on a transport and arrived in France in July of 1916; a 17 year old with some good flying skills and not much else. However, luck was with young Chalifoux and soon enough he was indeed flying with the Lafayette Escadrille; his first mission over German lines would occur in September of 1917. By the time the U.S. got into the war and came over to France in early 1918; Hank was already an ace with 6 victories to his credit. Like most of his fellow Americans; he would receive a commission into the U.S. Army and join the fledgling squadrons his home country was fielding in the war. Hank became a 1st LT serving in the 94th Aerosquadron alongside such luminaries as Eddie Rickenbacker, Raoul Lufberry and Paladin Blake. He would end the war as a Captain with 11 victories and eventually return home in 1920 and nearly lose his life to the deadly 'Spanish Flu' epidemic that claimed so many lives all around the world. Chalifoux recovered though and after leaving the Army in 1922; he would spend the next fifteen years traveling around the nation as a barnstorming pilot, performing shows and thrilling fans all over the rapidly disintegrating United States with his flying skill. In 1935; he was talked back into military service by an old friend; this time serving in the Air Militia of the Empire State; which encompassed his home state of New York. 'Captain Chalifoux' once again; this time he served as an Instructor; told to take a group of young men and get them into flying shape. Hank proceeded to do so; but when the squadron was taken away from him before he felt they were ready and used in a deadly mission that cost many of them their lives; Hank had had enough. Deciding to become a mercenary; he took the few survivors who were willing to leave with him, as well as some friends whom he had flown with over the years and he formed what he called the 'Thunderbolt' squadron. Learning of a lightly escorted, empty I.S.A. cargo Zeppelin named Spirit of Unity flying near the Western New York border; Hank took his squadron and managed to easily defeat the surprised escorts and force the Zeppelin to land in a remote area. There he landed and took control of the Zeppelin; but offered employment to the airship's crew. Most of them; lead by their veteran German commander; Captain Frederick 'Fritz' Wolff'; agreed and the now re-named 'Thunderbolt' became the heart and home of the new mercenary squadron. Taking employment in the Atlantic Coalition from 1935 to early 1936; the squadron tangled with pirates operating over the Atlantic and over both Canadian and American borders. Next; the Candian gov't offered them a contract to serve as Zeppelin escorts along the tense Quebec border and Chalifoux accepted; moving to take up the job in the spring of 1936. Soon however, it became apparent that they were being used on all the really dangerous missions as they could be a convenient 'they don't really represent Canadian forces' scape-goat and after being thrown under the bus with negative media coverage one too many times; Chalifoux decided to leave for greener pastures in the early fall of 1936; with a former Canadian pilot by the name of Jean-Claude Oulette joining the squadron at about this time. Taking up a job with the Nation of Hollywood; the Thunderbolts would spend the next year largely along the violent Pacifica border and disputed northern ocean sector (disputed with Pacifica, Russian and bandit groups out of Alaska and the Japanese out of the Aleutians); with occasional missions taking them along the only-slightly-less-violent Mexican and Arixo borders. One mission saw Chalifoux come to the rescue of a civilian pilot who was begin attacked by half-a-dozen bandits and while the civilian was obviously an excellent pilot; his unarmed plane was slowly getting chewed to pieces by the opposing flyers. Hank shot down a pair of the bandits and the rest broke off and that's when Chalifoux learned he had saved none other that Howard Hughes himself. A grateful Hughes presented Hank with a brand new Bloodawk fighter. While the Hollywood job has been decently lucrative for the group; it has also seen a whittling down of the Squadron; with the dozen planes being reduced to half of that by the beginning of September, 1937. Gaining a couple of new pilots in the form of ex Republican Spanish doctor-turned-pilot Che Curador and mentally unstable but excellent pilot Murdoch has helped fill in the gaps and Chalifoux is contemplating taking a job offer from an old friend who works in the Kingdom of Hawai'i….


ATTRIBUTES and SKILLS

DEX: 3D
-Guns 4D
-Brawling Parry 4D
-Dodge 4D

KNOW: 2D+2
-Languages 3D+2
-Technology 3D+2
-Bureaucracy 3D+2
-Tactics 4D+2

MECH: 4D
-Piloting 7D+2
-Gunnery 6D+2
-Ordinance 5D+2
-Radios 5D

PER: 3D+1
-Leadership 5D+1
-Bargain 4D+1

STR: 3D
-Brawling 4D

TECH: 2D
-Airplane Repair 4D

Luck Points: 3
Skill Points:


Plane: Hughes Bloodhawk

Gear: Colt 1911 .45 pistol in a shoulder holster; Pilot's Jacket & Helmet & Goggles; Thick Leather gloves; Combat Knife in boot scabbard; compass; lighter with 94th Aerosquadron logo (Hat in the Ring) engraved